Spiral
by Catherine4
Summary: Leo's dead. This sets off a whole chain of events that starts Piper on a downward spiral and threatens the lives of her and her daughters chapter 6
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
"Mommy, mommy, mommy!"  
  
Phoebe walked into the room behind the 4 year old and set the car keys down on the counter. She headed over to the fridge.  
  
Piper heard exited squeals as her daughter came running into the kitchen. Piper was standing by the stove cooking dinner but she stopped when she saw her little girl.  
  
"Hey Sweetie" she said, scooping her up, "how was school today?"  
  
"I drew a picture" Poppy announced proudly "There's you, and aunt Phoebe, and aunt Paige and Kate and me!" Piper smiled at her long run-on sentence and looked down at the brightly coloured painting.  
  
"And there's Daddy" Poppy continued, pointing to the figure in the sky. "Can you see Mommy? Can you?"  
  
A tear came to Piper's eye but she quickly brushed it aside. The little girl squirmed out of her mother's arms.  
  
Phoebe watched on from the other side of the room. She put her glass down on the side and walked over. She placed a hand on her older sister's shoulder but Piper shrugged her off.  
  
"So anyway" she started, quick to change the subject. "Where's Kate?"  
  
Phoebe sighed, she wanted to help her sister, but she just wasn't letting her in. "Upstairs" she finally replied, "Did you not hear the door slam?"  
  
Piper rubbed her forehead anxiously, worried about her 12 year old daughter. "What's wrong now?"  
  
Phoebe shrugged. "Would you like me to go and talk to her?"  
  
"No" Piper said, lifting some plates out of the cupboard, "It only makes it worse. There's no getting through to her when she's like this."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah, she'll come down when she's ready."  
  
Piper set the plates around the table awkwardly. She didn't look up once, trying to avoid any eye contact with her younger sister. Phoebe stood there, wanting to speak. Wanting to say something to make Piper feel. To make Piper feel.  
  
She had been like this ever since it happened. Bottling all her feelings up and not expressing any sort of emotion. She had cried non-stop for two weeks, but since then she was just numb.  
  
Phoebe and Paige had tried to help but she just wasn't letting them in. She just went about her work and her chores and looking after the kids as normal, not really wanting to believe that she was doing it without Leo.  
  
That she would be without him forever.  
  
"Did Poppy go upstairs?" Piper asked in a quiet voice.  
  
"Yeah, shall I go and tell her dinner's ready?"  
  
"Umm. No" Piper replied, "leave it a minute."  
  
Phoebe nodded, understanding.  
  
* * *  
  
Poppy knocked timidly on her older sister's door. "Katie" she said shyly, "can I come in?"  
  
Kate sat cross-legged on the bed flicking through a magazine, a scowl spread across her face. She looked up and her expression softened slightly when she saw who was at the door.  
  
"What do you want?" she grunted.  
  
Poppy shrugged. "I dunno, just to talk?"  
  
Kate noticed the look on her little sister's face and knew that there was really something on her mind. "What's up?"  
  
"I drew Mommy a picture" she stammered, pulling the crumpled piece of paper out from behind her back. Kate leant forward on the bed to take a better look. "I don't think she liked it very much, she went all quiet."  
  
Kate took hold of the painting and sat back on the bed. She began to climb on but paused. She checked to see if it was ok, but she didn't meet any resistance from her big sister so she carried on. She sat looking worriedly up at her sister's face.  
  
This must be serious; Kate never let her in her room.  
  
Poppy waited a bit but Kate didn't say anything, she just stared at the painting. She eventually crawled up beside her. "What's wrong? Don't you like it either?"  
  
Kate smiled and put the picture down. "I love it, it's beautiful. But you know how Mommy gets sad."  
  
Poppy looked confused. "I know. She misses Daddy. So I drew her a picture of Daddy to make her feel better." She paused and looked down at the floor. "Did I make it worse?"  
  
Kate sighed, she didn't really know what to say. Maybe she was quiet for a bit too long.  
  
"PK?" Poppy said, using her pet name for her.  
  
Kate snapped out of her trance. She hated that nickname. Poppy knew she did. She once threatened to drop her teddy in the fish tank if she called her that again. Poppy wouldn't dare use that name if she thought Kate would yell at her. She must've looked really upset.  
  
She finally spoke up. "Umm. Maybe it's better if we don't talk about him to Mom."  
  
"Just forget you mean?"  
  
"No, definitely not" Kate replied, tears welling up in her eyes. "We can still talk about him."  
  
"But not to Mommy?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
Poppy looked thoughtful for a second but appeared to shrug it off. "Are you coming down for pasta?" she asked.  
  
Kate shook her head. "Maybe later."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hello trouble." Paige greeted her young niece as she walked through the front door. She ruffled her hair and hung her coat up on the stand.  
  
Poppy smiled at her and walked through to the kitchen and slid into her chair.  
  
Paige followed looking a little confused. Phoebe shrugged at her and she shifted her gaze to Piper absently standing by the sink, trying to stay occupied. Paige didn't say anything; she just sat down at the table next to Poppy.  
  
She had given up asking what was wrong a long time ago. She knew what was wrong, of course. It had been the same thing for 6 months now. She just didn't have anything else to say and it seemed like the best thing to break the ice. It was no use though, Piper wouldn't talk.  
  
Paige noticed Poppy looking at her mother with a solemn expression on her face. "So missy" Paige said, trying to be cheerful, in her best effort to distract the child. "What did you get up to at school?"  
  
Poppy shrugged. Paige placed a hand on her back, comforting her. She didn't even flinch.  
  
Phoebe looked at her and gestured for her to take Poppy into the living room. Paige nodded.  
  
"Hey, why don't we go and watch TV and let your Mom finish the dinner?"  
  
Poppy climbed down off the chair obediently and followed her aunt into the next room. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Piper, come on." Phoebe tried to gently usher her sister away from the sink. Piper shrugged her off again and just stood there staring at the wall.  
  
"Piper, come on!" Phoebe was getting more frustrated. There was just nothing she could do to get through to her.  
  
Piper shot her a look and wriggled out of her sister's grasp. "It's ok, I'm fine" she replied timidly. Nothing in her voice of body language backed up her hollow words.  
  
"No Piper" Phoebe snapped, "You're not fine, it's not OK."  
  
She could tell she was making her sister uncomfortable, that was the last thing she wanted to do but she had run out of other options. Shouting was the only thing she had left that had a shot of getting through to Piper.  
  
"It's been 6 months and you've hardly said his name" Phoebe continued, "You can't just bottle everything up, you need to talk. The girls miss their Dad too."  
  
Piper stood across the room from Phoebe, facing the closed living room door. She swung around violently and glared at her sister.  
  
"Don't you think I know that?" She snapped, "Don't you think that I'm thinking about him every second? I know I should talk, I know it's affecting my kids."  
  
"They need you to talk about their Dad."  
  
"He's not Kate's Dad though, is he?" Piper said in a hushed voice. Kate knew of course, but Paige and Poppy had no idea.  
  
Phoebe looked hurt. For Leo and for Kate. "Biologically, no. But he loved her like his own, and he was the only father she ever knew. You can't just block him out!"  
  
Phoebe was practically shouting now. Piper was just standing there, not really talking it in. "I don't need to listen to this" she said, tears slowly forming in her tired, sleep deprived eyes. She started walking towards the back door.  
  
"Talk to your kids, Piper" Phoebe persisted, "It's not just you he left behind!"  
  
Piper turned the handle and stepped outside. She just wanted to get away. She knew everything her sister was saying was the truth; she just couldn't handle it right now. She paused for a moment and spun around, tears streaming down her face. "You know why I don't say his name?" She spat, "It hurts too much."  
  
She slammed the door behind her and left Phoebe standing in the middle of the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
The shouting had stopped. Kate opened her tightly shut eyes and uncovered her ears with her hands.  
  
The muffled sounds of her Mom and aunt arguing had become all too familiar recently. So had the mental images of Mom storming out and of Aunt Paige trying to shield her little sister from the events as best she could.  
  
She wished everything could go back to how it was. She looked at a photo of her and her Dad sitting on the lawn on sunny day two years ago. She remembered the day it was taken, during Paige's snap happy phase.  
  
Aunt Phoebe was chasing Poppy round the garden, trying to keep her out of the way and Mom was standing behind the camera, pulling faces. Her and Dad had tried so hard not to laugh.  
  
Only he wasn't her Dad. She hated that fact more than anything. No matter how much they loved each other, no matter how much she wished it wasn't true, it would always be that way.  
  
They never talked about it, she had never felt like she didn't belong. That's why hearing her mother remind her was all the more painful.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Paige pushed it open slowly and stepped inside. She sat down gently on the end of the bed.  
  
"Where's Poppy?" Kate asked finally.  
  
"Fast asleep in her bed" Paige replied, detecting her niece's concern. "I orbed her up to the attic as soon as the shouting started, kept her occupied with a story book. I thought it best she didn't hear."  
  
Kate nodded and twiddled her thumbs anxiously. "She's gone hasn't she? Mom, I mean."  
  
Paige nodded. "You know she doesn't mean to upset you, right?"  
  
"I know" Kate replied, "I just wish she could say his name."  
  
* * *  
  
Piper slammed the door and stormed down the garden path, sobbing. She sat down at the end of the driveway and rested her head in her hands. What was she doing? She knew Phoebe was right, however much she didn't want to admit it. Storming out of the house was only making everything ten times worse.  
  
Her girls were suffering even more because of her attitude and that's the last thing she wanted. Why did she have to bring it up? She never had before. She didn't care that Kate wasn't Leo's daughter; she had only brought it up to get back at Phoebe.  
  
That sounded so stupid now. It wasn't her fault; she just needed someway of venting her anger. Better that, she thought, than yelling at her kids, but she didn't like shouting at he sisters either.  
  
She flicked her hair out of her eyes and wiped her face. She turned around to look at the house. There was no way she could go back in there tonight, she couldn't face her family after the way she had acted. She stood up and walked to her car, she took the keys out of her coat pocket and unlocked the door.  
  
Climbing into the driver's seat, the tears, once again, began to fill her eyes. She turned the engine on and strapped in, tears trickling down her cheeks. She pulled away from the curb and drove down the road, looking back at her house as she went.  
  
* * *  
  
Poppy lay awake in her bed. She had pretended to her aunt Paige that she was asleep but she wasn't. She couldn't sleep when her Mommy wasn't here. She clutched her bear tight against her chest and stared out the window.  
  
She had heard her Mom and aunt fighting. Aunt Paige thought she didn't, but she did. She couldn't make out what they were saying but she heard the anger and grief in their voices. She just wicked they'd stop.  
  
Why was Mommy so angry? She didn't understand it. She knew it was because of Daddy but he died ages ago and she figured there must be something more. She had tried her best not to get in the way but she couldn't help feeling that she was partly to blame.  
  
Poppy couldn't sleep on her own, she never could. Her Mommy or Daddy had always stayed with her at night to make sure she wasn't scared, it wasn't right now. Her aunts had tried to help but it just wasn't the same.  
  
Her Dad was gone and all she wanted was for her Mom to be like she was. To give her a hug and tell her everything was going to be OK.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hello, is that social services?" The man let go of the curtains and stepped away from the window. "Yes, hello. I need your help. I am very worried about two children who live next door to me."  
  
He paused and listened to the person on the other end. "Yes, It has been going on for some time, there's always been something strange about that family and I've just seen the girl's Mom storm out of the house and drive away. I think you should get involved." 


	3. Chapter 3

Piper walked cautiously along the road heading back to the manor, wondering if it was too soon to return. The birds were singing, enjoying the early morning sunshine, but Piper's mood was far different.  
  
She had spent the night on the floor of P3, not having anywhere else to go. Between her job, her kids and saving the world, she didn't have a lot of time left to make friends. The only people she had to talk to were her sisters but they didn't understand. She needed someone to talk to who wasn't so involved.  
  
Spending the night on a cold, beer stained floor was her idea of luxury but it had given her time to think. And cry. She had finally realised what her mess her life was and that she needed to fix it.  
  
She didn't really need to think about it. She knew everything Phoebe was telling her last night was right, but she was too stubborn and proud to admit it to anyone else. She had been neglecting her precious little girls. That thought made Piper hurt more than when Leo had died.  
  
Kate and Poppy were the two most important people in her life now, and she couldn't bear to think how she had acted, ignoring them and concentrating only on her won grief when all they needed was a hug from their mother. And reassurance that everything was going to be ok.  
  
It wasn't, of course, and she used to think lying to her kids, no matter whether it was for their own good or not was wrong, but now she felt that she owed it to them to be there to tell them what they wanted to hear.  
  
She paused when she turned the corner. The manor was in sight, and she had a sudden twinge of guilt about running out last night and an overwhelming feeling that maybe she shouldn't go back, not yet.  
  
She sat down on a garden wall, staring down the street at the bright red house and wept. Holding her head in her hands, running her fingers through her messy, unwashed hair, the only thought that was in her mind was; what if they don't want me back?  
  
* * *  
  
"Aunt Phoebe!" Poppy came running into her aunt's bedroom and leapt up onto the bed.  
  
Phoebe groaned and rolled over, turning to face the little girl.  
  
"Where's Mommy?" she asked seriously, obviously worried but not overly distressed, more curious.  
  
Phoebe sat up and sighed, pulling her niece into a hug. "She had to go to work, honey. She didn't want to wake you" she lied. "She'll be back soon."  
  
Phoebe kissed her wispy, jet-black hair. Looking up she saw Kate standing at the door. She scowled at her aunt then ran down the corridor and slammed her door.  
  
Poppy looked at the door too. "Is Katie sad?" Poppy asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Hey, can we have waffles for breakfast?"  
  
Phoebe chuckled at the four year old and lifted her off the bed, swinging her legs over the side, putting on her slippers. "Sure. Why don't you go and wake aunt Paige and I'll go and see your sister, ok?"  
  
Poppy raced out the room and down the hall. She heard Paige's complaints when the hyperactive little girl attacked her in her bed and she smiled. She really had no idea of the full extent of what was going on. For that, Phoebe was thankful.  
  
* * *  
  
"Kate? Are you all right?" Phoebe pushed the door open slightly. Kate shuffled uncomfortably on the chair by her desk and didn't speak. "Come one sweetie, talk to me." Phoebe placed a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. Stubborn, like her mother Phoebe thought with a sigh.  
  
"Kate." Phoebe prompted again.  
  
Her oldest niece picked up a magazine and started flicking through the pages absently. "Leave me alone" she grunted. "Mom doesn't care, why should you?"  
  
Phoebe looked at her shocked. "How can you think that? You're Mom loves you very much."  
  
"Oh yeah?" she replied, "where is she then?"  
  
Phoebe opened her mouth to speak but she was interrupted harshly. Not that she knew what to say anyway, she wasn't sure if anything could be said to make things right.  
  
"Don't even try" Kate said, "There's no point. Mom made everything perfectly clear last night when she stormed out and left us."  
  
* * *  
  
Piper climbed silently up the front steps of the house. She reached into her jacket pocket for her keys but stopped.  
  
She couldn't just breeze back inside like nothing had happened. She didn't feel she had the right to just let herself in. Paige and Phoebe had every reason not to let her back.  
  
She had stormed out in the middle of the night, leaving her kids with them. She knew deep down that that's not why they would be so annoyed but she hadn't exactly been easy to live with these past couple of months.  
  
She lifted her and a poised it, ready to knock. She took a deep breath and tapped lightly on the stained glass window in the door.  
  
She waited a moment then heard footsteps. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Paige's figure come towards the door. She couldn't face Phoebe right now.  
  
"Piper!" Paige said in a hushed voice as she opened the door. "I was so worried."  
  
Piper nodded, noting her choice of words. I, not we. Only Paige, not Phoebe. Although Piper didn't really expect it to be any different.  
  
She walked slowly and shyly into the living room. "Listen" she began. "I'm sorry."  
  
Paige stopped her. "Don't be, you were upset. It's not like I've never run away from an argument before. You reacted like anyone else might've done."  
  
"Yeah, well, I don't think Phoebe will see it like that." Piper muttered under her breath. Paige didn't appear to hear. Either that or she chose to ignore it.  
  
"I'll go and make you something to eat" she offered, and disappeared into the kitchen without waiting for an answer.  
  
Poppy was asleep on the sofa. A cartoon blared out in the background and Piper reached over and switched it off with the remote that was lying on the table.  
  
She knelt down at one end, by her daughter's head and stroked her hair, simling. Poppy stirred but settled back down.  
  
"I'm sorry" Piper said in a small voice. "I didn't mean to leave you. I was just upset, you know." She bent down and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."  
  
She paused for a moment and watched her baby sleep soundly, noticing how beautiful she really looked, lying there peacefully. She stood up and made her way to the stairs, preparing herself for what was no doubt coming.  
  
Talking to her youngest daughter when she was fast asleep was one thing but facing her angry younger sister and her upset teenage daughter was another matter all together. She knew that facing Paige and Poppy would be the easy part, Kate and Phoebe would be the hardest.  
  
Kate felt so betrayed, so alone. She needed her mother there and Piper ran away. She had every right to be upset and angry. And Phoebe, she was there before. Piper had put her and Prue through this all before. She swore to herself that she wouldn't let it happened again but she could slowly feel the situation slip out of her hands and there was nothing she could do about it. 


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm not interested Mom, just leave me alone!" Kate yelled angrily at her mother and turned her back, her arms folded defiantly.  
  
"I didn't mean it Honey" Piper pleaded, walking further into the room towards her, "I was upset, I couldn't handle it."  
  
"Couldn't handle us you mean" she spat back. "You've hardly been near me or Poppy. You don't want anything to do with us now that Dad's not here."  
  
Kate forced Piper towards the door and slammed it angrily in her face. Piper didn't have the energy to fight. She felt like it was a lost cause. There was no way she would get Kate to listen to her at the moment, not until she had calmed down.  
  
Piper didn't want to give up on her daughter. Not now, not ever. But Kate wasn't exactly making it easy for her. Piper knew that it was her job to put things right but she just didn't have the energy.  
  
But walking away now would only confirm everything that Kate suspected about her mother. Piper felt she had to prove she would always be there.  
  
Piper stood out on the landing, close to tears. 'No' she thought, 'She's going to listen to me, dammit. Even if it takes all day.'  
  
Piper threw open the door. "Patricia Katherine Halliwell" she shouted, more out of pain and frustration than anger, "you listen to me."  
  
Kate was still stood in the same place in the middle of the floor. She jumped when the door was pushed open and looked shocked at her mom's manner.  
  
"I know you're angry, but you will listen to me" Piper continued, in an effort to get through to her. "If not for me, then for your sister."  
  
Kate's arms were still crossed defiantly but she began to crumble. She wouldn't let her mother know that though, she was too stubborn.  
  
"Poppy knows something's wrong. Don't you think that acting like this is going to upset her?"  
  
New found anger began to bubble up inside Kate. "How dare you blame me!" She shrieked. "You started this." She paused, taking in a long, deep breath. All the pain and anger she was feeling was funneled into one vengeful comment, seething with hatred and spite.  
  
"Dad would never blame me" she spat. "He loved us."  
  
Piper just stared in wide eyed shock at her eldest daughter, tears collecting in the back of her eyes. Her voice was very small when she spoke.  
  
She couldn't believe her own child was intimidating her. But it was working. "I'm sorry."  
  
She finally spoke her feeble apology and reached for the door handle. She stepped solemnly out of the room and closed the door behind her.  
  
Piper leant over the banisters and sighed. As she peered down into the living room below, she saw Poppy sleeping soundly on the sofa and collapsed into tears.  
  
All of Piper guilt and anger ran free in a flood of emotion. Why was this happening to her? She had already lost one of the most important things in her life, and she was about to loose two more.  
  
* * *  
  
Phoebe sat at the kitchen table, cradling a mug of coffee in her hands. She was just staring into it, too worried and worn out to actually drink it. She had only made it for something to do to take her mind off things.  
  
Paige entered the kitchen from the living room and sat down opposite her older sister. She sighed in defeat. "Kate left. I couldn't stop her, I'm sorry."  
  
Phoebe nodded. "She'll be alright, she'll come back in an hour or so. I'm more worried about Piper."  
  
Paige's face contorted with worry but she stayed silent. They both agreed. It was obvious Piper wasn't coping, they didn't need words to express that mutual feeling.  
  
Phoebe broke the silence. "I knew she took Leo's death hard" she said, "but I never imagined it would get this bad."  
  
"So what are we going to do?" Paige asked. It was the same question that had been asked so many times before. And it was the same reply every time.  
  
"I honestly don't know."  
  
* * *  
  
Piper sat on her bed, holding a silver photo frame in her lap. She stared at the image. It brought back so many good memories.  
  
But so many painful ones as well. A tear fell from her eye as she continued to look. It was taken 3 days after Kate had been born. Piper sat on the steps up to the manor, holding her new baby daughter in her arms.  
  
Prue had insisted she take a photo. Piper had protested but eventually gave in, knowing her sister would never give her any peace until she did.  
  
Piper stretched her arm over and replaced the frame on the nightstand. She sank back down, burying her face in her pillow.  
  
I was a cliché. But it didn't make it any less true. She just wished everything could go back to the way it was.  
  
* * *  
  
There was a knock at the door. Phoebe groaned and lazily stood up. Paige followed, putting their mugs on the counter as they headed to the front door.  
  
Phoebe undid the latch on the large wooden front door and warily opened it. She was met by a smart looking, blonde haired man. He looked like he was in his early 30s.  
  
"Gavin Clark" he said, offering them his ID. "Social services."  
  
* * *  
  
Piper grudgingly lifted her head when she heard a knock at the door. She got off the bed and walked over to the door, opening it a crack.  
  
She couldn't explain it. She just had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and she knew something was wrong.  
  
* * *  
  
"We had a complaint about from one of your neighbours. Is miss Piper Halliwell in?"  
  
"Uh, no!" Piper replied urgently, "She went out."  
  
The man didn't look convinced but carried on anyway. "Can I have a word with you two please? What is your relationship with miss Halliwell?"  
  
"We're her sisters" Paige replied cautiously, shooting a questioning glance at Phoebe.  
  
The man nodded. "It's regarding two children that live here. Can I come in?"  
  
Phoebe stepped aside to let him in, not saying a word. He walked though the door and wiped his shoes on the mat.  
  
Phoebe shut the door and turned to Paige. "Can you take Poppy upstairs please?"  
  
Paige looked confused but obeyed anyway. She scooped up the sleeping child in her arms and carried her up the stairs. Phoebe stood, watching them go then lead the way over to the sofa.  
  
"Phoebe Halliwell" she offered and the man shook her hand.  
  
He nodded and wrote something down on his clipboard. "Somebody rang us with concerns that your nieces were not receiving proper care. I'm just here to see if that really is the case. I'm sure you understand that every complaint has to be followed up?"  
  
Phoebe said nothing.  
  
"We've had to be called out before, is that correct?"  
  
Phoebe rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand, sighing. "Yeah." 


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, Miss Halliwell. Thank you for your time." The young man shook Phoebe's hand again as he stepped out through the door. "We will inform you of any developments and be in touch with your sister soon." He paused. "I must prepare you for the worst. If things don't improve soon, we will have to take Poppy into temporary custody."  
  
Phoebe didn't say anything, just nodded. She was close to tears too. She watched him walk down the steps to his car, which was parked on the curb outside the front gate. She sighed as she watched him leave and closed the door.  
  
Paige was standing in the dining room doorway. "What was that about?" she asked.  
  
Phoebe jumped. "How long have u been standing there?"  
  
"Long enough to know that something's up" she replied. "I orbed out to try and find Kate but I got back in time to hear the words 'social services' so please don't tell me it's nothing."  
  
"Any luck?"  
  
"No, I knew it was along shot. Don't change the subject."  
  
"Oh god" Phoebe exclaimed, sitting down on the sofa. "I knew I'd have to tell you sooner or later."  
  
"Tell me what?" Paige asked, joining her older sister. "Phoebe, you're worrying me"  
  
* * *  
  
Piper put her hand over her mouth and stepped back from the door in shock. This couldn't be happening, not again. She had been through this all once before, she couldn't cope with it a second time.  
  
She leant in closer and heard Phoebe close the door. She knew she hadn't been coping very well these last couple of months but she had never dreamed for one second that it would come to this.  
  
She heard Paige's voice. There was no way Phoebe could lie to her sister. She was going to tell her. She was cared of what Phoebe might say, scared of what Paige might think of her.  
  
She sank down to the floor and sat against the wall, tears pricking the backs of her eyes. Where had it all gone wrong?  
  
* * *  
  
"So, a social worker's had to be involved before?"  
  
Phoebe nodded. "Piper had Kate when she was only 17. She was young, she couldn't cope. She started going out late, not really wanting anything to do with her daughter. She was taking less and less responsibility for her child. It got worse and worse. When Kate as three, she just left. Prue was at work; I had gone out to the store to buy something for dinner. I got back home to find a police car outside the house. Kate was inside, crying her eyes out and Piper had disappeared."  
  
Paige leant forward and put her head in her hands. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. And she couldn't understand why her sisters had kept something this important a secret. "I can't believe this," she said. "It's sounds so unlike her."  
  
Phoebe continued. "You have no idea how hard it was convincing the police she wasn't an abandoned child. They took her to begin with. They thought Piper would come back and snatch her away or something. Fat chance of that, she didn't want to know. We fought long and hard to get Kate back. Luckily we got her back 2 months later."  
  
Paige didn't look convinced. "I used to be a social worker, I know how things like this work. There would be no way they would give her back to Piper so soon."  
  
Phoebe cringed and nodded. "They didn't. Piper was still nowhere to be seen."  
  
"So what happened?"  
  
"Social services agreed that Piper was the only one to blame. They agreed that me and Prue had had thought that Kate was in good hands. That Piper was a fit parent and that we, in no way, would do anything to harm the child."  
  
"And did you?"  
  
"Piper was our sister. We gave her the benefit of the doubt. We knew she wasn't the best parent in the world but we thought she loved her daughter enough to stick around."  
  
Paige looked as if she was about to say something then paused. "That guy said they'd have to take Poppy away. What about Kate? She's still a minor, they could still take custody of her."  
  
"I know" Phoebe said. "The complaint was against Piper. Legally, Kate's not her daughter."  
  
"What?" Paige looked shocked. "I don't understand."  
  
"That's why we got her back so quickly," Phoebe admitted. "Prue agreed to take custody of her. She adopted our niece. It was the only way to keep her. There was no other family around to care for her."  
  
Paige stayed silent. Phoebe watched her younger sister as all this information sunk in. "I had no idea" Paige finally said. "I mean."  
  
Phoebe sighed. "I know. I couldn't believe it either at the time."  
  
"So, If Piper doesn't have custody, who does?"  
  
"Me" Phoebe said simply. "I do. I didn't want to take custody of her. Piper was back only a month after the whole ordeal. She was a changed person. I still don't know what happened while she was gone but whatever it was, it seemed to work. By the time Prue died, she was back to her old self. She had married Leo and everything was the way it is now. But they still wouldn't let her have her."  
  
"I bet you're glad about it now though, I mean.."  
  
"No!" Phoebe said, slightly annoyed. She made Paige jump. "They could still take Poppy."  
  
* * *  
  
Piper had collapsed on the floor in floods of tears. Hearing Phoebe recite the whole sordid tale only reminded her of how badly she had acted. No, bad wasn't the word. She had abandoned her baby. She had disappeared for 3 months without word to anyone. Even before that she had ignored her own child, put her in danger. There was no excuse for the way she had behaved.  
  
She couldn't bear to be parted from her kids again. Not now. She had already lost her husband and older sister; she couldn't loose her daughters as well. There was only one way to stop it happening. She had to leave.  
  
She hurried to stand up. She opened the door and crept along the landing to Poppy's room and went inside quietly.  
  
"Poppy" she whispered, her voice wavering. "Poppy wake up."  
  
The little girl sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Mommy, what..?"  
  
"Come on sweetie, we have to go."  
  
"Go where?" she asked sleepily.  
  
Piper paused. She honestly didn't know. Just away.  
  
"On vacation" she told her. "Right now. How does that sound?" Piper fought to hold back tears. She smiled at her daughter.  
  
"What about Katie?" she asked.  
  
Piper dropped her head and a tear fell to the carpet. "Just us. But don't worry, we'll see Kate soon."  
  
"But Mom."  
  
"Stop it Poppy!" Piper snapped, the softened. Kate would be fine. She was safe. She didn't want to put her in danger if she didn't need to, as much as it hurt her.  
  
Leaving with Poppy wasn't rational. It was stupid and dangerous and no good could possibly come of it. But Piper wasn't thinking straight. In her mind, it was the only solution. She didn't want to leave Kate. But the prospect of being parted with one child for a short time was far better than loosing another forever. 


	6. Chapter 6

"What are we going to do?" Paige asked. They were still sitting in the living room, oblivious to Piper walking down the stairs.  
  
"I guess we have to talk to Piper first" she said, thinking. "Then go and find Kate."  
  
"Easier said than done" Paige told her. "Finding Kate I mean. She's not my charge, I can't sense her."  
  
Piper walked into the kitchen silently. She crossed the room and reached for the handle to the back door.  
  
"Mommy, I." Poppy began.  
  
"Shhhhh" Piper said to her youngest child. "You have to be quiet. It's a game ok?"  
  
She looked briefly to her sisters and paused regretfully. She knew she was hurting them. And Kate. But she had to go.  
  
* * *  
  
"What was that?" Paige asked, interrupting Phoebe.  
  
"What was what?"  
  
"That noise, in the kitchen." She looked concerned. "Piper?"  
  
They heard the door slam and looked at each other. "Oh no." the said in unison and rushed into the kitchen.  
  
* * *  
  
This is the action that I must take  
  
So leave me be, my decisions to make And keep us safe in a mystical cage  
  
Hide us from Elders and White lighter Paige  
  
Piper stuffed the scrap of paper back in her pocket. She didn't know whether the spell would work or not, but it was worth a shot.  
  
"Argh, dammit!" She knocked over a pottery plant pot by the gate and cursed aloud.  
  
"Mommy, stop it. You're scaring me! Where are we going? Where's PK?" Poppy cried in one, long run-on sentence.  
  
Piper held on to her more tightly and paused at the end of the drive. "Shhh, it's ok, I promise. Do you trust me?"  
  
The little girl nodded. Piper kissed her on the forehead as she ran to the car, which was parked a fair way past the house. She reached back into her pocket and pulled out the car keys. She unlocked the door and they both got in, Piper fumbling to put the key in the ignition before Phoebe and Paige could realise they were gone.  
  
She didn't want to hurt her sisters, and she knew she was, but this was what she had to do.  
  
* * *  
  
They heard the door slam and looked at each other. "Oh no." the said in unison and rushed into the kitchen.  
  
They heard a crash outside and ran to open the back door. As they ran round the side of the house, Phoebe yelled to her older sister. "Piper, wait, we can sort this" Phoebe yelled but then stopped. The plant pot at the end of the garden was shattered on the path and the gate was wide open but there was no sign of Piper.  
  
Phoebe looked at Paige and they both shared the same expression. Phoebe could've sworn she heard footsteps but when she walked up the path and glanced both ways down the street, she saw nothing.  
  
"What the.?" she muttered to herself, and turned back towards the house.  
  
Paige shrugged. "Maybe it was a cat."  
  
"But we head them go out the door" Phoebe said. She looked at Paige again for and explanation but she could tell that she had no idea what as going on either.  
  
Paige heard a car engine start down the road but Phoebe was already walking up the front steps. "Listen, can you hear that?"  
  
"Hear what?"  
  
Paige paused then shook her head. "Oh, nothing. Oh god, what are we going to do?"  
  
* * *  
  
Kate walked slowly towards her house, all the time wondering whether it as right to go home. It was getting dark now, she knew that someone must be worried. She knew her family loved her, even if they had a hard time showing it sometimes.  
  
She didn't mean everything she had said earlier to her Mom, it was just heat of the moment stuff that she was now regretting. She had been walking around for about 3 hours now, just thinking. All she wanted to do was run home into her mother's arms but she was too stubborn to give in straight away.  
  
Kate took a deep breath as they started across the street. She had to go home, it was her only choice. Where else was she going to go tonight? However angry and upset she was, she didn't want to hurt her family anymore than she had already, she wasn't that spiteful.  
  
Kate sighed and swallowed her pride. She would just have to face up to her actions. She walked through the front gate and carefully shut it behind her. She paused. Something wasn't right. The plant pot had fallen off the wall and lay shattered on the path. That was usually a sign of an attack.  
  
Her breathing began to quicken and her heart started to thump at the slightest hint that the people she loved were in danger. A demon or a warlock might be after them now, she had to help. Not that she'd be much good at fighting whatever it might be without her powers, she hadn't come into them yet, but that didn't matter.  
  
She raced up the front steps and was surprised to find the door locked. She dug deep into her coat pocket for the house keys she'd taken off the counter, she hadn't wanted to wake anyone if she got back later, but she heard her aunts talking inside.  
  
". I'm just worried for her safety that's all, she's so young. If Piper looses it again, Poppy will be helpless."  
  
Kate caught the tail end of Phoebe's comment as she turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open. Paige and Phoebe turned their heads and looked at her.  
  
"Oh, Hi Honey, where have you been?" Phoebe shuffled awkwardly and tried to sound calm.  
  
Paige did the same. "Yeah, we were so worried."  
  
Now it was Kate's turn to look worried. "What's going on? Why's the car not in the drive?" She could feel tears stinging the backs of her eyes. "I only went for a walk, and."  
  
Both adults rushed towards her as they witnessed her getting more and more upset. They placed their hands lovingly on her shoulders but glanced around nervously, unsure of what to say.  
  
"What were you saying about Mom?" she insisted, "Tell me!" She was getting agitated and desperate now and just wanted to know what was happening.  
  
Paige finally spoke. "She and Poppy, uh."  
  
Kate looked at her, confused for a moment, then her eyes widened in a mixture of shock and realisation. She glanced down at the carpet and sniffed to hold back tears.  
  
"She's.." Kate stuttered, not wanting her fears to be true. "Mom's gone again, hasn't she?" 


End file.
